Box Score

NASHVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team gave the hottest team in the Ohio Valley Conference all it wanted on Tuesday night, but Tennessee State forced overtime in the final minute and pulled off a 69-64 win over the Gamecocks.

Nick Cook and Ronnie Boggs notched double-doubles for the Gamecocks (11-17, 6-8 OVC), the first time two JSU players recorded double-doubles in the same game since February of 2009, but the Tigers (18-10, 11-4 OVC) used one last charge to pull off their eighth-straight win. TSU earns a split in the season series with JSU and improves to 10-1 since losing in Jacksonville on Jan. 7.

Robert Covington took over for the Tigers, scoring 18 of his 28 points after halftime. He knocked down his fourth and final 3-pointer of the game from the right corner with 33 seconds to play to send the game into overtime. He also grabbed 10 boards in the game to notch a double-double of his own.

Cook, a sophomore from Hattiesburg, Miss., scored 11 points and pulled in 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Boggs, a junior from Kansas City, Mo., added 10 points and 10 boards for his first career double-double. The duo helped the Gamecocks tie the much longer Tigers on the boards at 35 rebounds apiece.

Sophomore Brian Williams led JU with 14 points, while Tarvin Gaines added eight despite playing just 22 minutes before fouling out.

The Tigers were 5-for-10 from behind the arc in the second half and in overtime, while JSU struggled from outside. The Gamecocks made just five of its 25 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

In a game that saw seven lead changes after the 3:30 mark of the second half, the Gamecocks used defensive stretches in both half to build a 10-point lead at one time. They held TSU without a field goal for a stretch of 6:50 in the first half and then kept the ball out of the Tigers' hoop for 6:57 at one point in the second half.

The Gamecocks used a 14-1 run in the first half, holding the Tigers without a field goal for 6:50 to build a 22-12 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. The Tigers scored four in a row to pull to within six and that's what JSU's lead was at the half, a 32-26 advantage.

The Gamecocks held off a few TSU charges early in the second half until TSU tied the game at 43-43 with 11:15 to play. JSU answered, using a Brian Williams two and then a 3-pointer that built a 48-43 advantage.

The Tigers went 6:57 without a field goal in the second half, allowing JSU to pull back up by six at 51-45 with just over five minutes to play. The Tigers charged back again, scoring seven in a row to take their first lead since early in the first half.

Cook grabbed an offensive board on the other end and put it back to tie it back up, and a pair of Williams drives gave the Gamecocks a 57-53 lead with just under two minutes to play. A Rackley free throw and a pair on the other end by Kellen Thornton gave JSU a 58-55 lead, but Covington sank his fourth 3-pointer of the half to tie it with 33 seconds left.

JSU couldn't get a good look on the offensive end before a Williams attempt at the horn fell short to push the game into overtime.

The two exchanged blows for the first 3:30 left in the extra period before a Wil Peters trey and a pair of free throws gave TSU a 67-64 lead.

After turnovers and missed free throws, JSU got three looks from behind the arc with the 3-point deficit but couldn't make one. Peters went to the line with 8.4 seconds left to put the Tigers up by two possessions and JSU couldn't overcome it.

The Gamecocks play a non-conference game vs. Presbyterian on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum to start a three-game homestand to close the regular season. They will host Southeast Missouri on Feb. 23 at 7:45 p.m. before rounding out the regular season on Feb. 25 against UT Martin at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are available through the JSU Ticket Office and all children 18 and under get in free.